Cameron Fyfe is representing Franny Traynor

Mr Fyfe said Mr Traynor, from Milngavie near Glasgow, faced a "daunting" task.

He said: "Imperial Tobacco want to take his evidence just now because they are worried he might not survive the outcome of this case.

"We don't have legal aid so we were unable to represent him today - Imperial, on the other hand, have limitless funds.

"He has shown great courage to go through this himself and to be cross-examined by a top QC.

"It can be bad enough for some of us to confront such figures, but for Mr Traynor, it's a very daunting prospect."

Mr Fyfe saw Mr Traynor a week ago to brief him one last time before his solo submission.

He said the key case was that being brought by Margaret McTear, from Ayrshire, whose husband Alfred died of lung cancer in 1993.

He too gave evidence on commission before his death.

'No-win, no-fee'

Mr Fyfe added: "There has never been a successful case in Europe and the key case for us is the test case of McTear against Imperial Tobacco, which we are about two-thirds of the way through.

"That is on a no-win, no-fee basis and our hope is if we can win that then the other cases will be successfully concluded quite quickly.

"The basic argument we are putting forward is that these clients all began smoking before warnings were put on cigarette packets in 1971 and they had no idea that smoking was injurious to health."

Smoking-related illnesses claim 13,500 lives each year in Scotland

Alan Porter, legal manager for Imperial Tobacco, said: "The procedure of preserving evidence in this way is quite normal.

"It can only be carried out with the approval of the court and pursuers often seek this approval themselves."

Mr Traynor on Wednesday described the first three hours of the hearing as "hair-raising stuff".

He said: "It's been pretty hair-raising stuff so far. I've a few days to go and they are going through my whole life."

Despite concerns of becoming tired during the hearing, Mr Traynor said he was bearing up, adding: "I've not been stumped."

He added: "This is very, very important, it's got to be done because my evidence has got to come out and this is only the first stage."